Facebook postpones plans to alter privacy policy

Facebook has postponed its plans to update its privacy policy. The Social Networking giant had stirred up a new controversy as it planned to make various changes to its privacy policies, changes that included removing the word “privacy”.

Facebook said the changes would be applicable for users across the world. Among all major changes the name of its user privacy policy will be changed from “Privacy Policy” to “Data Use Policy”. The social networking company had also posted a PDF document that features all the changes that it intends to make in near future. In the document, Facebook also talks about complying with the local laws and deal with non-Facebook users.

"We strive to create a global community with consistent standards for everyone, but we also strive to respect local laws. The following provisions apply to users and non-users who interact with Facebook outside the United States..." it says, with the phrase "and non-users who interact with Facebook" being the new part.

Earlier, Facebook spokesperson Barry Schnitt in an interview with CNET said that change in name was incorporated in the company's privacy guidelines more than a year ago. “We're just making the Terms consistent,” he remarked. The spokesperson points out that the document featured many other wording changes, but they do not “outline any meaningful modifications to the company's practices”.